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Tag: Cal McNair

  • Three Houston Texans Related Thoughts on Dallas Trading Micah Parsons

    For the second time in under a calendar year, the city of Dallas and the sports fans in that town were sideswiped by a massive, landscape-changing sports trade. Back on February 1, deep into a Saturday night, the Dallas Mavericks traded all-world forward Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that resulted in protests outside the Mavericks arena, and chants of “Fire Nico” (for Nico Harrison, Mac’s GM) inside the arena.

    This time, it was Cowboys owner (and sadly, their GM) Jerry Jones deciding that the appropriate ending to the Micah Carson’s contract stalemate was to trade Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for a couple first round picks and DT Kenny Clark. In the process, Parsons wound up with a four-year contract extension worth up to $188 million, making him the highest paid non-QB in NFL history, at $47 million per year.

    There is no need to do winners and losers for this trade. The winner is obviously David Mulugheta, Parsons’ agent with whom, for some reason, Jones decided to make this whole thing personal. Much the same way Mulugheta was able to engineer a record-breaking contract for Deshaun Watson as an adjunct to a trade, he did the same thing for Parsons, de-pantsing Jones in the process.

    Parsons’ resume speaks for itself — four time Pro Bowler, three time All Pro, 52.5 sacks in four years, and most importantly, a player whose most measurable impact was the fact that, over the past four years, the Cowboys were the league’s best defense with Parsons on the field, by EPA per play. Across 1,039 snaps, those same Cowboys immediately became the league’s worst defense by the same metric when Parsons was mot on the field.

    The Packers are now +1200 to win the Super Bowl, as they were +2200 before the trade, while the Cowboys Super Bowl odds go from +4700 to +5500.

    That about sums up the big picture angle son the deal, but I do have a few Houston Texans related thoughts after the execution of this trade. Here you go:

    If you’re having flashbacks to bad Texans trades, here are the two that should haunt you
    The DeAndre Hopkins trade and the Jadeveon Clowney trade. This Micah Parsons trade had the worst elements of both of those deals, almost as if those two trades had a baby with each other. The subpar compensation for an elite football player harkened back to the (even worse) second round pick and David Johnson that Bill O’Brien received for Hopkins, and the late suboptimal late August timing of the deal harkened back to the August 31, 2019 trade of Clowney to the Seahawks.

    Be glad that Cal McNair is your team’s owner
    I’ll bet you wouldn’t have been saying this four years ago, as the Texans were embarking on another season of Jack Easterby in the building and David Curley as the head coach, but here we are. The hires of Nick Caserio as the GM, and DeMeco Ryans as the head coach look like genius moves, and unlike Jerry Jones, Cal McNair is not going to involve himself in transactions like these. Cal cuts the checks, and then unleashes capable employees to go do their jobs, which is EXACTLY what you want from an owner.

    Will Anderson is going to be so rich
    So $47 million per year is now the high water mark for non-quarterbacks. After the 2025 season (March 2026 to be exact), Will Anderson, Jr. will become eligible for a long term, second contract. If he makes the leap in Year 3 that many expect, he might crack the $50 million per year barrier. Add in the likelihood that C.J. Stroud eclipses $60 million per year, and the salary cap calculus changes drastically for the Texans next year. One thing I can assure you — unlike Jones, Nick Caserio will not let things fester for months and months while both sides stare at each other. The Texans will try to get these extensions done quickly, as they did with Derek Stingley last March, a week after Stingley became extension eligible.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

    Sean Pendergast

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  • Four Remarkable Things Texans Owner Cal McNair Has Done to Skyrocket in Popularity

    Four Remarkable Things Texans Owner Cal McNair Has Done to Skyrocket in Popularity

    There was a time, not all that long ago, when being a Houston Texans fan made you a target of ridicule, a source for the pleasure of those who dabble in schadenfreude. Put simply, it really sucked being a Texans fan from 2020 through 2022, when not only did they win a paltry 11 games over three seasons, but they did so by making decisions and doing things which defied any sort of logic.

    The NFL is full of teams who are bad teams, despite doing things that seem logical on paper. The Texans were the team doing things that you could tell from jump were bad ideas — prompting Bill O’Brien to GM, trading DeAndre Hopkins for nothing, allowing Jack Easterby to have a 713 area code. At the eye of the storm was owner Cal McNair, who ultimately answers for everything Texans-related, good or bad.

    Back then, it was a whole lot of BAD. Every tweet the team sent out , even if it had nothing to do with McNair, would elicit dozens of “Sell the team!” replies, and sometimes, oftentimes actually, in far more colorful terms than that. For a while, it looked like there was no way out.

    Then, like a gift from the football heavens, along came DeMeco Ryans to coach the team. Then, from there, along came angel number two, in the form of C.J. Stroud, and next thing you know, the Texans are winning games, and the very same owner who probably needed security surrounding his River Oaks home two years ago, that guy can’t go out in public now without fans telling him how awesome he is.

    Two great hires, in the two most important spots in a football organization, and the Texans are off to the races! Now is the time for Cal McNair to enjoy the fruits of being a POPULAR NFL owner, and man is he doing a good job of that! Let’s start with this past weekend and go backwards chronologically with the four biggest things, aside from hiring Ryans and drafting Stroud, that Cal McNair has done to enhance his skyrocketing popularity:

    4. Shotgunning a beer at the Luke Combs concert (Saturday night)
    In case you missed it, Cal McNair joined several Texans players on stage at the second of two Combs’ concerts at NRG Stadium, and joined the award winning artist in a celebratory shotgun of a cold beer:

    Incredible, and here are the best and somewhat unknown parts of this video. First, I was told by a source close to Cal that he had to be told exactly what “shotgunning a beer” was, which is incredible considering he played college football at Texas. Second, Combs wanted all the players to shotgun a beer, but Cal stepped in and said that it was in-season, the players are training, and he would do it on their behalf. The icing on the cake, the punt of the beer can at the end, was not planned. What a scene, man!

    3. Cal’s impromptu “man on the street” interview with the School of Hard Knock (Earlier this summer)
    What better way to give off that “every man” vibe than to allow an interviewer to walk right up to you and pepper you with questions about your business — like, literally about Cal’s actual corporate business. This is a level of comfort that Cal McNair did NOT have a few years ago:

    My favorite part of this video was at the end, when Cal says his advice in negotiations is knowing “when to walk away,” as he is literally walking away from the interviewer. Hilarious.

    2. Cal’s handling of the leaks of secret pictures of the team’s new uniforms (March 2024)
    Back in March, the team had a private showing of their new uniforms for a handful of media members, team employees, and select season ticket members. I as one of the people present, and I can vouch that they asked us to turn in our cell phones before the presentation. Well, there was one bad apple in the room who managed to sneak in a camera and post an awful picture of the new uniforms on an average Joe, like you or me:

    Instead of fretting about, Cal just one upped the leaker and posted way cooler pictures of Nico Collins and Tank Dell sporting the uniforms:

    1. Cal’s cookout (summer tradition, began August 2022)
    This is actually something Cal McNair decided to do back in the summer of 2022, right before the Lovie Smith-coached season. He decided to hold a cookout in the practice field parking lot, and give free burgers to fans who attended the final practice:

    I love this one for a couple reasons. First, as I said earlier, Cal started doing this back in 2022, when times were still pretty rough for the Texans. So this wasn’t him riding the wave of Ryans’ popularity. Ryans was still the defensive coordinator for the 49ers at that time. Second, I have served as the primary assistant for Cal McNair at these cookouts, and if I may say so, I’ve become quite the burger flipper!

    Can’t wait to see what popularity trick Houston’s favorite son pulls out of his hat next! Winning something like 12 or 13 games this season would do just fine.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

    Sean Pendergast

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  • Luke Combs Shotguns a Beer With Texans Owner Cal McNair in Final Houston Show

    Luke Combs Shotguns a Beer With Texans Owner Cal McNair in Final Houston Show

    There are two things to always expect in a Luke Combs concert: Him strutting and singing with a Solo cup in hand that is kept filled through the night and that he will make his way to the edge of the stage and shotgun a beer for everyone to see.

    What you don’t expect in a Luke Combs concert is for the owner and starting quarterback of your city’s NFL team to come out, and for said owner to join Luke in shotgunning a beer.

    That is exactly what happened at NRG Stadium in the final show of the Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour. In the middle of the song “1, 2 Many”, Combs stopped the song as he normally does but surprised fans by bringing out Houston Texans Quarterback C.J. Stroud, the Texans owner, Cal McNair, and other Texans players on stage.

    McNair stepped to the edge of the stage with Luke – who was also wearing a new battle-red Houston Texans fitted-hat – and the two shotgunned a beer together before throwing (or for Cal kicking) the can into the crowd in true Luke Combs fashion.

    The tens of thousands of fans that packed NRG Stadium erupted. “Give it up for your Houston Texans!” Luke yelled. “They’re gonna kick some ass this season!” while the Texans made their way back off stage.
    Before Combs was shotgunning and Solo cup strutting on stage, he was a 24-year-old in Nashville, Tennessee recording his first EP The Way She Rides. He says he didn’t even get on a plane until he was 25.

    “The first place, they sent me was to the great state of Texas.” Combs said. “It blew my mind. You guys have such an incredible culture here, such incredible pride. Texas is just as special as it was then as it is to me now.”

    It’s been a journey for Luke since Nashville. He’s since dropped nine projects, featuring five studio albums and three more EPs. Combs’ debut album in 2017, This One’s for You, exploded him onto the Country Music scene. The LP earned him his first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and his first No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with the track “Hurricane.”

    His sophomore album What you See Ain’t Always What You Get that released in 2019 was the birth of the tradition of shotgunning a beer on stage, with the single Combs made with the country music duo Brooks & Dunn, “1, 2 Many” featured on the LP.

    His fourth album brought fans a country rendition of Tracy Chapman’s classic hit “Fast Car”, which spent five weeks at the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

    Now Combs was the final show of his latest tour, and he made sure to express his gratitude through the night and let those who have helped him get to this point know how much it meant to him, including the fans.

    “This has been the most incredible tour I’ve ever been on. So many memories with my brothers on this stage with me, with the fans. None of this happens without you guys supporting us and spending your hard-earned money.” Combs told the massive NRG crowd.

    “Thank you, from us to you. We’re gonna put on the best show of our lives for you tonight.” He added.

    click to enlarge

    Luke Combs showed love to the fans and the city of Houston throughout the show.

    Photo by Cody Barclay

    Combs left it all out on the stage for the final show of the tour. Playing tracks of old like “Beautiful Crazy” and “She Got the Best of Me” from his debut album, and of course the more recent hits like “Where the Wild Things Are.”

    It wouldn’t be a Luke Combs show in Houston without “Houston, We Got a Problem.” The big screen behind Luke displayed “DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS” and he showed more appreciation for the state. “I wanted to write a love letter to Texas. I wanted to tell Texas, that I love Texas.” He said to the roaring crowd.

    Even when it appeared Luke was done, he wasn’t. The first time he walked off stage and everything went to black, he abruptly came back and performed encores of his most popular tracks before officially wrapping the night up.

    “Texas, I love you!” Luke yelled as he finally walked off stage officially and for what would be the last time on the Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour.

    Sean Thomas

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  • Houston Texans Uniform Leak-Gate Ends Today at 10 a.m.

    Houston Texans Uniform Leak-Gate Ends Today at 10 a.m.

    If there is a theme for the current era of Houston Texans football, which began with the hiring of DeMeco Ryans back in late January of 2023, it is “new.” New head coach, new quarterback, both of whom are excellent at their respective jobs. New roster overhaul, and a new winning ethos, encapsulated by a new slogan  — S.W.A.R.M.! — are all very tangible, as well.

    Now comes perhaps the most tangible symbol you can find to define “newness,” as the Houston Texans will unveil their new uniforms, four of them in all, on their social media platforms this morning at 10 a.m. local time.

    As someone who’s been a minuscule part of this process — I sat in on a few of the conceptual meetings with other media members and fans — I can tell you that it’s been a long road to get here. Changing uniform design in the NFL is like leveling your house and replacing it with a mansion. Lots of red tape, lots of input from authority figures (the NFL is sort of the HOA in this analogy), and lots of time.

    If you’re interested in how this all came about, check out the team’s video on how they involved the fans and ultimately tried to make these uniforms as “H-Town” as possible:

    The team held a sneak preview for several media members (including myself) and priority fans back in the middle of March. We all had to give up our cell phones and sign Non Disclosure Agreements before entering the show room with the new uniforms.

    Still, the team could not prevent a few leaks. First, the picture below surfaced several weeks ago, with one of the models from the private viewing posing for a pretty unflattering picture in the white jersey/blue pans combo. Credit Texans owner Cal McNair for embracing the leak and countering with a much cooler picture of the same uniform combo, this one showing wide receivers Tank Dell and Nico Collins sporting the white-on-blue combo:

    Then, late last week, in what appears to be a shipping warehouse of some sort, a random person decided to rip open a box with a color rush blue helmet inside, and post it on social media. It’s not been confirmed if the person doing this was stupid enough to realize they may be committing a felony, but the video is out there, so here you go:

    Like the first leak, this one was met with a mixed reaction, but the new “H” was 100 perfect confirmed as real when Cal McNair posted this picture from his driveway, a picture of him wearing a ball cap with the “H” logo and hanging out with “Tex the Dog.” Tex’s chain got as much run as Cal’s lid, by the way:

    So, if you’re keeping score at home, that’s two leaks and two outstanding responses from the Texans, so on Friday, the Texans put out what appears to be a leak of their own:

    It would appear as though the Battle Red helmet has an aluminum mask of some sort. Honestly, I don’t recall that being the case when I saw these uniforms in person, and even if I did, I wouldn’t confirm it here, because I respect a good NDA!

    Whatever the case, leaks or no leaks between now and 10 a.m. on Tuesday, we will all see these uniforms soon enough, and the Texans can begin printing money over at the team store.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

    Sean Pendergast

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